névé

[ney-vey]

noun

granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice.
a field of such snow.

Origin of névé

1850–55; < Franco-Provençal < Vulgar Latin *nivātum, noun use of neuter of Latin nivātus snow-cooled, equivalent to niv- (stem of nix snow) + -ātus -ate¹

Also called firn, old snow.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for neve

Contemporary Examples of neve

His early boards are so sought after that a Neve preamp alone will regularly go for $3,000.
Jack White Sets World Record for Fastest Record Release
April Siese
April 22, 2014
Neve, often credited as the creator of the recording console, has been making high quality large format consoles for decades.
Jack White Sets World Record for Fastest Record Release
April Siese
April 22, 2014
I noticed that Don repeated the line "I have to get back to work" to both Megan and Neve.
Jon Hamm on the Final Season of ‘Mad Men’ and the Advice He Got From Bryan Cranston and Tina Fey
Andrew Romano
April 14, 2014
Miri Maoz-Ovadia of the Yesha Council who lives in Neve Tsuf, about 25 miles to the south of Ariel, is my driver.
The Settlement Movement and The Environmental Card
Kathleen Peratis
August 21, 2012

Historical Examples of neve

The day after his return, then, John set out with Jonas for Neve.
For the Temple
G. A. Henty
I've been in the business twenty yea's, and I neve' seen her equal.
The Crisis, Complete
Winston Churchill
Neve foret terris securior arduus ther,Affectasse ferunt regnum celeste gigantes;Attaque congestos struxisse ad sidera montes.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 6 (of 10)
Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
In order to cut snow, neve or ice to pile on the flounce, a pick and spade had to be included in the sledging equip meet.
The Home of the Blizzard
Douglas Mawson
In the evening a field of neve was reached and we felt more placid after the anxiety of the preceding hours.
The Home of the Blizzard
Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for neve

névé

noun

Also called: firn a mass of porous ice, formed from snow, that has not yet become frozen into glacier ice
a snowfield at the head of a glacier that becomes transformed into ice

Word Origin for névé

C19: from Swiss French névé glacier, from Late Latin nivātus snow-cooled, from nix snow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for neve

"field of granular snow, firn," 1843, from French névé (19c.), probably from Savoyard névi "mass of snow," from Latin nivem (nominative nix) "snow" (cf. French neige), from PIE root *sneigwh- "snow, to snow" (see snow (n.)).

neve in Science

névé

[nā-vā′]

The upper part of a glacier, consisting of hardened snow.
The granular snow typically found in such a field.